Dear Bird Talk, I want to get my car driven to Florida by my daughter (or a friend). What documents should I provide her with... permissions etc.? Tony Dewerth Stuart, ON Ed.: We would suggest that the daughter or the friend have a copy of your passport and a copy of the ownership of the car, along with a statement from the owner giving the person permission to drive the car to Florida. Include information as to when the vehicle will be returning to Canada. Dear Bird Talk, It is very confusing how to fill out the FORM 8840. Say I arrive in the U.S. on November 15 of a given year and stay until April 28 of the following year. My question is, do I count only from November 15 to December 31 on one Form 8840 and then “save” the rest (January 1 to April 28) for the next year? Are these “saved” dates then added to another form. Gloria Dunford-Cartwright North Kawartha, ON Ed.: The 8840 form is asking you to report actual days spent in the U.S. during a calendar year – November 15 until December 31. Then, next year, you report January 1 to April 28 and any additional days which you spend in the U.S. in the fall and winter of that year until December 31. Bird Talk Featuring the letters & concerns of our members SEND YOUR LETTERS TO Bird Talk, c/o CSANews 180 Lesmill Road Toronto, Ontario M3B 2T5 Online at www.snowbirds.org/bird-talk or by e-mail: csawriteus@snowbirds.org Bird Talk Dear Bird Talk, Do we need POAs for each other regarding the ownership of our property in Florida? I had heard that, if one spouse becomes incapacitated, the other spouse may not be able to sell the property even though the title is in both of our names. Is this true? C. Berg Ayr, ON Ed.: That is true. Each of you should have a power of attorney naming a person to act on your behalf in the event of your becoming incapacitated. It could be each other or someone else. Dear Bird Talk, I am taking an 11-night Alaskan cruise which departs fromVancouver, visits several Alaskan ports and then returns back to Vancouver. I plan to get off of the ship for a few hours at four of the Alaskan ports. Do any of these days count as time spent in the U.S. by the IRS or the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency? Richard Latimer Dartmouth, NS Ed.: To avoid any issues with the U.S. CBP agents, you should count the entire Alaskan cruise as days in the United States. Dear Bird Talk, Because of the destruction of our home in Fort Myers, can we leave 10 days earlier to complete all of the work that needs to be done? It will mean an extra two weeks over the allowed 183 days? Anne-Marie Tibbo Squamish, BC Ed.: Unfortunately, there are no provisions in place that allow Canadians to spend more than six months in the United States due to damage caused by Hurricane Ian. Dear Bird Talk, I have not seen anything that CSA is doing for members about lobbying for more affordable plans to use our CDNmobile phones in the U.S. Has there ever been an effort to negotiate a plan for members. Thanks for all of your efforts on our behalf. John McLaughlin Oakville, ON Ed.:We have been working extensively to put together a dependable, comprehensive solution for the membership of the CSA. Unfortunately, the two major carriers that we have worked with were only able to offer nominal discounts without any pricing guarantees or service protections that would avoid the type of service interruption that we experienced in February 2022. At this point, snowbirds are better off getting a sim card from a discount U.S. carrier, putting your Canadian cell phone on “Extended Absence Greeting,” which will close your voice mail box, update your voice mail message by saying that your current phone number is inactive and relay your new phone number. Follow up by giving your friends and family your new U.S. phone number. It’s like back in the day, when we suspended our land lines. But a lot cheaper. CSANews | WINTER 2022 | 9
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